


Growing Up Together

by Missy



Category: Indiana Jones Series
Genre: Adoption, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Guardianship, Hugs, Kid Fic, Post-Canon, Theatre, Willie Being Willie, Yuletide Madness, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-23 12:39:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16619129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missy/pseuds/Missy
Summary: Willie Scott takes the Broadway scene by storm and is surprised to find a familiar face in the audience.She's not exactly a perfect mother figure, but since Wan Li needs a friend, she thinks she'll do just fine.





	Growing Up Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GoggledMonkey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoggledMonkey/gifts).



It’s a pretty decent play – small, in a small theater, but the houses are usually packed every night, and she has a decent role that involves tap-dancing and singing her heart out. Willie loves it; beholden to no one, famous because of her assistance in Doctor Jones’ well-publicized rescue of a group of enslaved children, she takes the notice she's gotten and transforms it into an opportunity to razzle and dazzle them all while getting twice as much attention as she did while working at Obi Wan's.

 

When it finally ends up on Broadway, she’s relieved to be in America, relieved to have hot water and a carpeted floor underneath her feet. She enjoys being pampered even more now that she understands what mud under her nails and monkey brains on her tongue taste like.

 

Her life’s proceeding smoothly, and it looks like she might actually land a new agent. Then a small, eager, familiar face pops up at her Saturday matinee performance.

 

She’s almost ready to confront Shorty’s presence when he pops up at the stage door.

 

“Doctor Jones is right,” he says, grinning. “You’ve got style, lady!”

 

“Shorty, what are you doing here?!”

 

“I’m not Shorty anymore!” he says. He’s walking so quickly she almost can’t keep up with him on her too-high heels. “I’m going under my real name –Wan Li – since I came to America. Doctor Jones put me at the fancy school uptown, but it’s boring! No archeology! We don’t even have a gym class!”

 

“And how did you get front-row seats to my show if you’re supposed to be there?”

 

He shrugged happily. “One of the other boys was gonna come but he traded me my Lou Gehrig card for the ticket.”

 

Willie doesn’t know much about baseball, but she does know something about Lou Gehrig – the talk of the town backstage. “You should have asked Indiana to call me.” That would involve Indiana actually bothering to do so, something she knew by now he wouldn’t be doing. And that was fine, she understood. “Shorty,” she whispered, “what were you doing at my play?”

 

The sparkle in his eyes is still bright. “The school’s okay, but I want somewhere to go during holidays just like other boys.”

 

“You can’t sleep at the theater, Wan Li,” she said. “The producers wouldn’t like that.”

 

“Lady,” he says patiently, “I want to go home with you! I want you to adopt me!”

 

“Adopt you?!” Willie was shrieking, but she didn’t realize it until Wan Li winced and covered his ears. “I don’t know how to be a mother! I don’t even know how to take care of a goldfish!”

“It’s okay! Just don’t flush me down the toilet!”

 

Willie stopped screaming and looked at Wan Li. He was still wearing the uniform from his school, and he wasn’t wearing his Yankees cap. She didn’t realize how out of place that looked, how wrong. He’d saved her life. Giving him a roof, food, attention – that feels like a fair trade.

 

Willie crouched down until they were eye to eye, then tentatively placed her hands on his shoulders. “Are you okay with me learning on the job?” she asked.

 

He shrugged. “I don’t know how to be a son either. We’ll learn together, OK?” 

 

“I guess that’s fine – as long as you promise to do your homework and come home after school. No more picking pockets, no more late nights!” She already sounded like her mother, sounded like the life she's been trying to run away from. She was going to be doing this by herself. She should be terrified, but…

 

She ruffled his hair and gave him a quick hug, which he broke to pluck his Yankees cap from the back pocket of his short pants. “Wan Li, how do you feel about Hollywood?” she asked.

 

“The Dodgers aren’t as good as the Yankees, but I could learn to like them.”

She laughed, the cool New York air billowing from her mouth in cloudy, smoky droughts. Some things in life are truly unpredictable, but they were what made it great. Like falling in with Indy and his cab-driving friend.

 

Her new son. Who woulda thunk it?

**Author's Note:**

> I did indeed go with Wan Li as Shorty's real name, since it's the most prominent name used in most of the official materials surrounding TOD. I hope you like this little slice fic!


End file.
